Hi Everyone,

I'm a little confused about the various monitoring options.

I see that Webchaver charges $4.99/month but Yishmoreini is free. What's the difference? I also see you can go straight to Covenant Eyes, but they charge $8.99 per month, and yet I read somewhere that Yishmoreini "runs on the Covenant Eyes platform." ?

Basically, I want to install the monitor on my Windows laptop, iPhone and iPad. I haven't figured out yet who will be the person to report to. Quite possibly it will be my rabbi, though I haven't yet told him I have this problem.

Thanks in advance for any help clarifying.

P.S. Are Androids easier to monitor than Apple mobile products? I see that Webchaver can't monitor use of Safari. If I can use Safari undetected, that kind of renders the whole thing useless, and if I can use my mobile products to surf the Internet, monitoring my computer won't be of much use. Theoretically, I could switch to Android, though that would require a new phone and new tablet and lots of lost $ on purchased programs etc. So, in other words, I'd rather not, but would consider doing so if they can be truly monitored.

Webchaver and Yishmoreini all run the covenant eyes software. The difference is as follows:

Covenant Eyes is a software program that can be installed on your computer, android or apple devices. You chose a partner who receives copies of your reports. The partner sets the level of detail on the report. There is an optional filtering component as well. On android devices the software monitors all browsers and monitors app installation and app usage but it does not filter even if you have that option. They also now have an app lock in which when set disables the app unless the code is put in.

On apple mobile devices (e.g., ipad or iphone) the software does not monitor safari or other browsers. You need to have someone lock those browsers for you and then install the covenent eyes browser which will then monitor and filter all of your internet activity. Apple has a built in app lock which is very good and it also has the ability to filter certain websites. With respect to apple desktops covenant eyes does monitor and filter safari.

So what's the difference if you have webchaver, covenant eyes or Yishmoreini?

I'll start with Yishmoreini. Yishmoreini is basically covenant eyes except that your username is anonymous. Only the Rov of the shul with which your account is associated with knows who you are. The reports themselves are reviewed by the folks at yishmoreini and if they get a bad report they call the Rov and say speak to Joe Schmoe. This way Yishmoreini doesn't know who you are. The system is setup in a way that it free to the user, in essence it is sponsored by others to remove one impediment to getting people to sign up.

Webchaver runs a customized version of covenant eyes. Because covenant eyes is a christian company webchaver acts as a go-between. This way you get no emails directly from covenant eyes which occasionally sends out newsletter emails reflecting certain christian views. Moreover, the reports are different. In the standard covenant eyes report you can click through to the same problematic website that may be on the report. On the webchaver report if you click on the link you get a description of the website but it doesn't take you there. Through webchaver you also get the benefit of a negotiated rate.

If you have any additional questions, feel free to PM me. Much hatzlacha.

Hakolhevel,

This post by the beloved Ur-A-Jew may help you with the question you pm'd me this week 

Let me add, that I tested the Covenant Eyes filter on their tighter levels and it looks really good

You can safely use their whitelist option or their "Everyone" level which is nice. 

If im looking to break the Everyone level, I may be able to - I can't rely on filters for my sanity.

A fence it is and has helped me recently

My bigger prob is Youtube and Covenant Eyes enables a simple block option on all YouTube and Jewtube too ;-)

Hatzlacha bro

Thanks.  One feature not mentioned in the past above is internet shutoff which has been great for me. The internet on my computer goes down at 10:30. Sadly this does not work on the android.

My main problem thus far had been whitelisting. 

I have tried setting it to whitelist only and some of the whitelisted websites don't work properly and the whole browser goes really slow...

But ideally I would like to work with just a whitelist.

As far as android is concerned, currently i blocked and deleated my browser, but I would prefer to be able to have a whitelsited browser on my phone as well.

If anyone has any ideas please let me know.

As an aside, I believe it's best to have both reporting and filter. I know with webchaver, I have been able sometimes to beat the filter but not the report, and same Visa versa. Ultimate though. If Youtube is allowed, you can watch almost anything that is just two threads of clothing away from porn and it won't show up on a report. That's why I think it best to go with a whitelist.

Hey Hakol, the tighter levels on Covenant Eyes (Webchaver) include full YouTube block, so whitelist isn't absolutely necessary, unless that's what you need for a sober day

Btw I'm now using both K9 and Covenant Eyes and although some have said there's a conflict between the 2, it doesn't seem to be a prob.

However now that I BH upgraded my CE filter (I never knew about the levels b4), I'll probably put the K9 back in the kennel since BH we are doing great now k9aHara

Hatzlacha!

Hi Hakol,

There are quite a few ways to put on time restrictions on a Android phone and whitelisted web browsing. If you need help, you can email or pm me.

Hatzlocha Rabba!

Markz wrote on 23 Nov 2018 03:58:

I have tried their different levels of filtering, however the problem is trifold twofold.

1. I don't like open internet in genral, even if only for "everyone" websites, as I will probably to waste my time, so I prefer whitelisted only" ( I have saved lots of hours of my life by deleating the browser of my phone, just by not going to "kosher" websites)

2. The websites I do need to access, seem to slow down on that very tight level, even when whitelsited. I think it's bevause it also filters the pages itself looking for images...

When I’m doing well, all I need is a solid filter on my computer- CE monitoring isn’t enough because it is easy to get around.

I haven’t used the CE filter in a while; I use Nativ which also blocks skin colors. It’s very good, and very strict, but if you’re looking to find something, you probably can. My problem is I always need better than white list- I need more access to prepare classes, etc. so when I’m not doing perfectly, Nativ might not be strong enough, but I think not on white list it’s one of the strongest out there.